Crashing the White Council Meeting
by jkleeberger22
Summary: The twins and their new friend get in trouble when a White Council Meeting is held at Rivendell.


_Rivendell and the characters belong to Tolkien, not me._

"Lindir!"

"Yes, Lord Elrond?" Lindir bowed his head slightly in recognition of his master's call. It was one he had been dreading. It had been long known by Elrond's servants that the next White Council Meeting was to be hosted in Rivendell: Elrond, Mithrandir, the Lady Galadriel, and the white wizard Saruman would again be discussing the Enemy Sauron and the fate of Middle Earth. Lindir strongly suspected his own fate would be to watch Elladan and Elrohir for the afternoon, and his suspicions were soon confirmed.

"I need you to keep the twins and Arwen occupied until I have finished with the conference," Elrond stated.

"Yes, Master Elrond." Lindir knew what was expected and smiled as if he were delighted to have this privilege. "I am at your service."

However, Elrond was not finished. " King Thranduil from Mirkwood will profit from our discussion today. The forest grows dark, and he desires to seek our advice. For that reason, he will also be attending the meeting."

"Very good, my lord." Privately, Lindir wondered why Elrond had chosen to share this seemingly irrelevant information with a servant. The answer came like a cold splash of water from the Bruninen River.

"His son Legolas is coming with him. I'm afraid I must ask you to take on another young charge."

Although groaning inwardly, Lindir forced a smile and assured his lord that he was perfectly capable of dealing with the young prince from Mirkwood in addition to the Lord Elrond's three children.

At the breakfast table, Elrond decided it was time to inform the children of the day's events.

"Is Grandmother coming?" Elladan interrupted hopefully.

"Yes, Grandma Galadriel will be here for the meeting. We're going to be busy, though, so you need to stay outside with Lindir. However, I do have a surprise for you." He explained about their young guest and threatened punishment if they were not welcoming and polite hosts." And don't cause any problems for Lindir," he added.

Little Arwen looked up from her breakfast. "I'll listen to Lindir and be nice to Leg'las, Ada," she promised sweetly. Elrond smiled fondly at her, and then looked sternly at his sons. They both gave their father an identical angelic smile before turning their attention back to the food remaining on their plates. Elrond doubted this was a sufficient pledge of good behavior, but he had more important matters to tend to before the arrival of his guests. What would Saruman think if he saw the current condition of the stables? And he needed to have some pipe weed on hand for Mithrandir…

The twins and Arwen strolled outside to watch the guests arrive. A wizard dressed in white robes was the first to appear, and he quickly marched inside: the head of the White Council was too important to acknowledge three elf children sitting on the grass. The twins waved politely when he was followed by a wanderer dressed in grey, who paused to give them a kind smile. They knew Mithrandir from past visits to Rivendell: his fireworks had made a big impression. The one that interested them the most, however, was the tall, dignified elf holding the hand of a blonde haired youngster dressed in rustic shades of green and brown. Suddenly shy, Elrond's children were content to sit and watch from afar. Legolas wasn't. He approached them with curiosity in his wide blue eyes and said calmly, "Hi, I'm Legolas. Who are you?"

Elrohir stood up and gave him the elven salute, wishing to appear mature. He had seen his father use it on similar occasions. Lindir, observing quietly, smiled at the young master's use of the greeting.

"I'm Elrohir, and this is Elladan. Elrond is our father."

"Don't forget Arwen," Elladan interrupted putting his arms around his little sister. "Oh, and that's Lindir. Ada says he has to watch us."

"Oh, no, it is a pleasure to serve your father in this way," lied Lindir. "What do you like to do at your home in Mirkwood, Master Legolas?" he asked quickly, glad to change the subject.

"Climb trees." Legolas pointed to a large tree with multiple extended branches at the edge of the lawn. "May I climb that one?"

Permission was granted, and Legolas took off with the twins in the direction of the tree. Arwen's short legs were not able to keep up, so Lindir trailed behind the boys to keep an eye on her. By the time he reached the tree, Legolas had already scrambled up the tree as nimbly as a squirrel and was peering down at the twins attempting to follow him.

"Wait for me!" Arwen cried, but Elrohir ignored her. Elladan, the more gentlemanly of the two, leapt down and helped his sister onto a low branch. She soon lost interest in the tree's allure and pleaded for a visit to the stables to see King Thranduil's horse, of which his son had just been boasting.

"I would rather stay up here, but you can go to the stables. We'll be fine," Legolas informed Lindir casually. Considering the matter settled, he turned to his new friends. "My Ada said I could have my first bow on my next birthday. When are you going to get yours?"

"I'd rather have a sword first. My grandpa Celeborn has promised me a nice one."

Convinced that all was well, Lindir consented to take Arwen to the stables. As soon as he was out of earshot, the twins turned to a more interesting topic of conversation. "I wonder what our fathers are talking about in there," Elladan pondered, pointing to the window of the room the White Council was occupying.

Mischief gleamed in Legolas's blue eyes. "I know how we can find out. We can climb that tree there by the window and peek in. If we're real quiet, nobody will ever know."

"It's awfully tall," Elladan said doubtfully. "Are you sure we should?"

"I can climb up anything," Legolas assured him confidently. "But if you're going to be like a cowardly dwarf about it, then you can stay here."

"I am not a dwarf!" Elladan protested indignantly. "I can climb as well as any woodland elf, and I'm coming."

There was no sign of Lindir and Arwen as they snuck across the yard, so they promptly put their plan into action.

"I'll go up first, and you follow me."

Elrohir was ready to protest this command, but it was too late: Legolas had already scaled the tree's branches. "Come on, Elladan! If we don't hurry, we won't get to see the meeting," he whispered.

Although the twins had spent hours playing in the trees and were adept climbers, they couldn't compare with Legolas. Out of breath and decorated with leafs and twigs, Elladan and Elrohir joined Legolas on the branch closest to the window.

"I can't see anything, "Legolas said in disgust. "This branch is way too high. Maybe if I leaned down…"

"Master Legolas! Elladan, Elrohir! What are you doing?" Lindir, standing on the ground holding Arwen, shouted sternly.

Legolas, bending down toward the window, started in surprise. "Oooh! Help!" he wailed as he slipped from the branch. Before the twins knew what was happening, Legolas was desperately grasping the edge of the window ledge. His body hung precariously against the side of the building. "Elladan, Elrohir, I'm going to fall!"

Elladan and Elohir started to shout desperately in unison. "Ada, Ada, help!"

"I have long studied the devices of the Enemy, and I believe that Sauron- "Saruman paused. "Lord Elrond, I hear voices outside the window."

Elrond strode over to the window and peered out. "What in the name of the Valar!" he began, seeing his two sons clinging to the tree branches. He was even more shocked when he followed their gaze and saw the rustic young prince from Mirkwood dangling from the window ledge. "Thranduil, come quickly!"

The window pane was very cautiously opened so as not to dislodge Legolas's fingers, and Thranduil joined Elrond at the window. "Legolas!"

"Ada," Legolas replied meekly, as if speaking any louder would cause him to fall. His voice trembled. "Help me!"

Thranduil rescued his son from the ledge and lifted him into the room. Elrond stretched out his arms to help the sheepish twins in through the window, and they didn't dare to refuse. "What on Arda were you thinking? Where is Lindir?" he demanded. Avoiding Elrond's stern eyes, the twins and Legolas mumbled excuses and shaky apologies.

Moments later, Lindir rushed through the door, Arwen in tow. "I- I'm sorry, Lord Elrond. I took Arwen to the stables for a few minutes, a-and when I r-returned…"

Elrond sneaked a peak at the members of the White Council, wondering how they would react to this chaos. Saruman raised his eyebrows in disdain at the children's shenanigans, but Gandalf's eyes crinkled with hidden laughter. Galadriel paid no heed to either of them: she was hugging her grandsons and asking worriedly if they were all right. Thranduil shot a glare at Legolas, but Elrond noted both embarrassment and relief in his eyes. Elrond also had very conflicted emotions about his children crashing the White Council meeting, but in the presence of his important guests all he could do was shake his head and sigh.

O0o

"Lindir!"

Lindir looked up from a stack of papers and rose. "Yes, Lord Elrond?"

"I am holding a council in an hour. We will be deciding the fate of the Halfling's Ring as well as the fate of Middle Earth. Master Legolas will be attending, and I need you to escort him from his quarters."

Lindir offered a polite smile that had long ago become automatic. "Certainly, my lord."

Elrond nodded in acknowledgement and turned to leave the room, muttering to himself. "…must tell the kitchen to restock... those Halflings and their appetites…"

He suddenly stopped and again faced Lindir with a wry smile. "Oh, and one more thing, Lindir. Do try to keep Legolas out of the trees this time."

"I will do my best," Lindir grinned. For once, his smile was real.


End file.
